Digit is a web design and development company (and a creative agency besides for many of our clients, but I digress). So, you’d expect our blog to contain articles focused mostly on those topics.
To be sure, we have a fair number of design- and development-related posts, but these days we are increasingly inspired, threatened, excited, augmented, and dumbfounded by AI and its ramifications…so, please, forgive yet another piece around that topic:
Art, fashion, and technology have always danced a delicate tango, with each shaping and reflecting the other. But AI has us waltzing into uncharted territory, where the lines between reality and simulation are blurred, and the future is both bright and uncertain.
Let’s talk first about trust, or rather, the erosion of it. With AI’s ability to create deepfakes that can manipulate evidence in the justice system or generate fake signatures in contracts, we fear that authenticity is quickly going to become a rarity. Trust is being chipped away, and we are left questioning what is real and what is fabricated. True, we can resort to blockchain’s contract ledger technology which, supposedly, it’s tamper-proof, but we just have a hard time imagining our moms signing leases through blockchain. News is at an all-time record low in terms of trust, but what’s coming our way will make today’s cable news diatribes sound like Walter Cronkite’s daily roundup.
Allow us a wild thematic switch to start talking about fashion. AI’s rapid onslaught of visual, textual, and video abundance makes us wonder whether we are about to experience a dazzling revival of the Rococo era! Its boundless creativity might bring an explosion of exaggerated styles that will challenge our notions of taste and appropriateness. Who needs the inherited 20th century minimalism when you can have an overwhelming mishmash of eclectic aesthetics? Fashion runways could become even more of a wild, unpredictable ride, and who knows what we’ll end up wearing next out on the streets? It could be a fashion-forward revolution, or just a chaotic fashion faux pas.
But wait, there’s more! AI’s influence may not stop at fashion. Architecture, too, could undergo a radical transformation. Brace yourself for flamboyant, ornate structures that defy conventional design principles (and maybe physics to some extent, at least perceptually). Functional and practical might soon be out since we can have extravagant and excessive on-demand. Will we be in awe of these architectural marvels, or will we long for the simplicity and authenticity of the human artisan?
Of course, AI-generated art lacks the trove of personal experience, the soul, and human touch of traditional craftsmanship. We are right to worry about the devaluation of human creativity and skill, and the potential loss of authenticity and originality. To say nothing of the ethical concerns surrounding the use of personal data to train these AI models.
In the midst of this uncertain future of cheap, fast, stimuli and information, we may see a resurgence of appreciation for analog, real-world experiences and artifacts. Books made of paper, in-person meetings where you can see people’s actual facial expressions, and physical seals on contracts that you can touch and feel may become cherished relics of a bygone era.
As we navigate the uncharted waters of AI’s impact on art and fashion, we must tread carefully. It’s important to strike a balance between embracing the creative possibilities of AI-generated content and preserving the authenticity and humanity of traditional craftsmanship.
As a reminder of the old-world attention to detail and decorative excess that AI might soon be bringing about in fashion and architecture, we are including a link to download a set of free, public-domain vector illustrations. These are based on tiny tiles we found and photographed on a recent trip to Spain. Download the illustrations from the links below:
Lady: .svg | .png
Farmhouse: .svg | .png
Deer 1: .svg | .png
Deer 2: .svg | .png
Caballero: .svg | .png
Bird: .svg | .png
